Tagan Heights
by OllCat217
Summary: AU: Blackout is a Decepticon femme stuck in a dead-end job. But when she is asked to pilot a spaceship to Earth, things change dramatically. Carrying a precious cargo and with crew members hiding shady pasts, will they make it to Earth intact?
1. Chapter 1 Welcome to the Tagan Heights

**A/N: This is the first story I've posted on this site so reviews and CONSTRUCTIVE criticism is welcome (we can all use help to improve our writing) but please no flames. They will just be ignored. This story also focuses a lot on my own characters so if you don't like them then don't read. If you do read then thanks a lot!**

**_OllCat217_ **

Blackout was sat quietly at her desk, quietly putting bullets into clips and quietly putting the clips into the box. She hated this dead-end job but it was the only thing they would let her do. She wanted to fly. But she knew that would never happen. There was no point dwelling on the past. She turned back to her bullet pile, all thoughts of flight forcibly pushed out of her head.

Someone tapped her on the shoulder.

"What?" she snapped irritably. Work put her in a bad mood anyway and standing over her shoulder was one of those perverts from across the hall. One who's optics were glued to her chest.

"Voltage wants to see you. Outside hangar 21. Now." he said, still not looking up. Blackout got up, pushed him aside and stalked off without another word.

Blackout met Voltage outside hangar 21. She was still in a bad mood. She didn't appreciate Voltage sending starers to deliver messages.

"Do you really think sending starers to deliver messages is something the temporary Decepticon commander should be doing?" she asked him as she approached.

"I didn't know he was one of those." Voltage replied.

"Most mechs are now. You wanted to see me?" Blackout sighed.

"Yes. A little scraplet told me that you always wanted to be a pilot. That you still do." he said.

"Depthcharge!" Blackout snarled. "If I ever get my hands on him-"

"You'll be civil." Voltage finished. "Can you just listen for a nanoclick? I've got a proposition for you."

Blackout suddenly became interested. If Voltage had mentioned piloting, then maybe she might get to fly after all...

"I'm listening." she said.

"I want you to captain a ship. I know you never finished your Academy training but Depthcharge said you had natural talent by the bucketload. We also need all our regular pilots for the war effort." Voltage said.

"How do you know about the Academy?" Blackout hissed, instantly suspicious.

"I read your file. Don't worry, you need Level 2 security to access it." he reassured.

"But I don't have Level 2 security!"

"So?"

"It's my file!"

"Are you two coming in or are you just gong to stand there bickering all solar cycle?"

While the two of them had been talking the hangar doors had been opened and a stranger had emerged. He was black, silver, purple and all sharp angles.

"I'm Shockwave. Ship's medic." he said, shaking hands with Blackout. "You must be the captain."

"I'm Blackout." she replied.

Formalities exchanged, the trio walked into the hangar. Inside there was a small, battered spaceship. On the side, written in peeling letters, was the name Tagan Heights.

"That's my ship?" Blackout cried in disbelief.

"She's the only ship we have free that's safe to fly. All the others are either shot down, captured or in active service. According to Shockwave, she's perfect for our needs." Voltage said, trying to placate her.

"What needs?" Blackout snapped, frustrated that nobody was giving her a straight answer.

"You will be transporting a...precious cargo to Megatron." Voltage said.

"And I suppose the exact contents of this cargo are secret?" Blackout said. They both nodded. "And I suppose you both know what it is."

There was a pause, then they both nodded.

"But it's just us two and Megatron in the know." Shockwave said. He took hold of Blackout's arms to stop her stalking off in disgust. "Come on. Let me show you around."

"I don't want everyone knowing you know what this cargo is and we don't. It could create some unwanted tensions." Blackout said as they headed up the entry ramp. What she really wanted though was for the crew to understand exactly who was in charge. The captain, not the medic.

"Okay." Shockwave replied. He opened the airlock and led Blackout inside.

The command centre was the oddest place Blackout had ever set foot in. The bizarre mix of old and new technology disorientated her and she almost fell backwards down the entry ramp. Shockwave neatly caught her.

"Steady!" he cried "You're just a bit confused. It's overwhelming. I had the same reaction when I first came in here. Come and sit in your chair."

Blackout felt weirdly tingly as Shockwave put his arms around her and settled her in the captain's chair. She didn't quite understand it, but she liked it. But she was too nervous to ask Shockwave. He wouldn't care; they were Decepticons after all. She pushed the thoughts out of her mind like so many others. Instead, she turned her attention to sorting out the jumbled mess of technology.

"One warning: the throttle is on the left instead of on the right and the hyperdrive convertor needs fixing." Shockwave warned, sitting down on her left. She began to familiarise herself with the controls.

"Why is it such a mess?" Blackout asked.

"Older ship. New technology. They have to update it sometimes." Shockwave replied. Their hands were almost touching...

"Chief engineer Vortex reporting for duty, captain."

Blackout spun around. The Decepticon who had called himself Vortex was standing in the doorway. He looked young, but his shoulders were stooped and his red gaze dull, like an experienced warrior who'd witnessed the horror of battle too many times. And to add to this impression, he had four broad scars running left to right down his face. He said no other word to them, he just turned around and walked, no, limped into the shadowy bowels of the ship.

"What's wrong with him?" Blackout asked, stunned. She looked over at Shockwave, who looked equally bemused.

"I don't know. Perhaps he could have been a sparkling soldier..." Shockwave said, his voice trailing into nothingness.

"Why don't you know?" Blackout asked. "I thought you had access to the files."

"I was only allowed to read yours. Only Voltage and Megatron know. If they bothered to look." Shockwave replied.

Blackout was beginning to relax. She had the bones of a crew now, even if some members were a bit...unstable. She sat back in the chair and sighed.

"Feeling better, huh?" Shockwave asked. Blackout nodded. "Budge up."

He squeezed in next to her.

"You know, if there's anything wrong, anything troubling you, you can come to me." he said. "And it doesn't have to be for anything medical."

Blackout nodded and put her head on his shoulder. Then the whole ship began to shake.

"QUATRAIN CRYING!" bellowed something from the entry ramp.

"What the slag is going on?" Vortex cried, having re-emerged when the shaking started. The shaking got worse. Suddenly something massive barrelled into the control room, knocking over what appeared to be a pillar. But as the dust cleared, it became clear to all that the pillar was alive.

"Happy tears, Lugnut, happy tears!" it cried. At first neither Shockwave nor Blackout could tell if it was a mech or a femme. It had the figure of a slim mech, but it sounded so feminine when it talked that it was impossible to tell.

"Oops. Sorry." the big one said, getting up. He was definitely male.

"Hello." it said. "I'm Quatrain. Delighted to meet you, captain Blackout."

"I'm Lugnut." the other grunted. "He's Quatrain."

So Quatrain was a mech.

"Why were you crying?" Blackout asked.

"You two! Spilling your deepest desires to each other. So romantic!" Quatrain cried. He sniffed twice, then regained his composure. "Sorry."

"Um...we...we weren't spilling our deepest desires." Shockwave replied.

"Subconsciously you were. Don't try and deny what you don't know what you were doing." Quatrain said.

"How can you tell?" Vortex asked, stunned. Quatrain tapped the side of his nose and sat at the comms desk. He began to bring the radar and radio online. Everybody else went back to their stations, except Lugnut. He was just stood in the centre of the control room clutching a small silver statue. Blackout couldn't see what it depicted. Quatrain got up and led Lugnut over to the security chief's desk and strapped him down.

"When we get into space I'll see if I can fix the hyperdrive convertor. The engine itself is fine but-" Vortex began, but Blackout interrupted.

"As long as you can fix it, I don't need to know the details." she said. Vortex turned back to his calculations. Then behind him he heard footsteps.

"Captain..." he said slowly. Blackout turned. Standing by the hatch was a new crew member. He looked nervous, small and diminished, like everyone in the room was going to turn on him. But that wasn't the first thing Blackout noticed about him. The size of his pack, lumpy and practically bursting, was so obvious it was a wonder he'd got it past security. He set it down very gently just inside the airlock.

"What is in there?" Quatrain whispered to Shockwave, who was closest to him.

"No idea! We were allowed to bring our stuff but that's just ridiculous!" he replied. Blackout listened to their theories with interest. She had recognised him the moment he walked into the dodgy lighting. Finally Voltage had chosen someone she already knew. He walked up to the co-pilot's chair. He froze when he saw her.

"Blackout?" he said, astonished.

"Darkscream!" She cried, leaping up and hugging him. "How are you?"

"How do you know him?" Shockwave asked.

I was a year above her in the Decepticon Academy. I used to help her with her mathematics." Darkscream explained. "Then, shortly after I left, she vanished from the records."

"You went to the _Decepticon Academy?" __V_ortex gasped, turning to face Blackout. "How come you ended up on a dead-end mission like this?"

"Let's just go." Blackout said through gritted teeth. She never wanted to go through her Academy experience again, even if it was inside her own head. She shook her head to clear her thoughts before placing her hand on the throttle. She pushed.

A deep rumble began in the engines and slowly spread through the ship. The whole thing began to tip slowly backwards into the launch position. The hangar roof slowly clunked open, revealing the inky blackness of space.

The ship pushed off the platform and launched itself towards Megatron.


	2. Chapter 2 Stowaway

When they had blasted free from Cybertron's gravity and the ship's antigrav systems had kicked in, Blackout programmed in Megatron's co-ordinates and got up.

"Darkscream, take that ridiculous pack of yours down to your quarters. It's blocking the hatch." Blackout said. "Look, I don't mean to sound harsh-"

"It's okay. It has to go somewhere. Ship's on autopilot?" he asked. Blackout nodded. She watched him tenderly scoop up the pack.

"What is in there?" Shockwave asked, almost in disbelief.

"Whatever it is, it's obviously delicate and holds some incredible sentimental value." Quatrain said. "Just leave him be."

"As long as it isn't dangerous, I don't care what it is." Blackout said. "Vortex, where are you going?"

Vortex was slipping out of the control room.

"Hyperdrive converter." he said, holding up a toolkit. He left.

"How about we explore? Blackout, I need to give you a medical examination." Shockwave said. Everybody began to filter out.

"Why can't you do the others?" Blackout pleaded. She hated medical exams.

"I've already done them." he replied exasperatedly, leading her towards the medical bay.

He had nearly finished. He was gently running his hands down her back, checking for any abnormalities.

"You're circuits are really tight. Try to relax." he whispered. He slid his hands from her spine to her ribs. He began to run his thumbs along each strut. Blackout began to relax under his gentle touch. Then he stopped.

"When did you break your rib?" he asked, his voice still soft.

"When I was still in the Academy." she whispered, her voice barely audible. She really didn't want to remember that particular experience. Shockwave must have sensed she was uncomfortable, because he immediately stood up.

"Okay. Here's what we're going to do. I'm going to get you some Energon and I'm going to sit you down and de-stress you" he said, turning to the door.

"I'm not stressed, you fraghead!" Blackout said, but he was gone.

"You so are stressed, sweetie."

Blackout whipped around. Quatrain was standing by the back door, his arms folded. "And that was a pretty intimate medical exam"

"What do you mean?"Blackout replied.

"He wasn't nearly as gentle with the rest of us. Either he's crushing on you or he needs you relaxed." Quatrain replied. "There's something going on here, sweetie. I can feel it in my spark."

"QUATRAIN!" Lugnut roared from somewhere.

"That's my cue. Just keep yourself safe, sweetie." Quatrain said quickly. He ducked out, just as Shockwave came back in.

"I hate to stress you out more, Blackout-"

"I'm NOT stressed!"

"But someone's been stealing Energon." Shockwave finished. Blackout froze Then-

"WHAT!" she yelled, leaping to her feet. Shockwave grabbed her arms to stop her from storming down to the hold.

"Don't charge off." he said. "We need to think about this."

Her spark rate slowed as she calmed down. She was soon soothed enough for Shockwave to let her go.

"Do you have any idea who?" she asked.

"No. But I found this." he said, holding up a tiny metal splinter. "It was caught on one of the storage containers."

"Okay. So whoever opened it must have caught their hand on the lid when it shut. Whoever has the sore hand is our culprit." Blackout said. "And Shockwave? Just one question?"

Blackout was remembering what Quatrain had said about the suspiciously intimate medical exam.

"Anything, Blackout." he replied.

"How can you assess my internal struts just by touching me?" she asked.

Shockwave answered with surprising ease.

"Underneath your armour there is a thin metal skin protecting your vitals from the elements. Certain struts protrude slightly through it and, because a femme has lighter armour than a mech, the armour shapes around the struts more easily. So by following the shape of your ribs, spinal rod and pelvic structure, I can check your struts without subjecting you to an X-ray. Why do you want to know?" he asked.

"No reason. Now let's go and check some hands." she replied. Either Shockwave was telling the truth or he was a really, really good liar, but with no medical knowledge Blackout couldn't tell. She was just going to have to trust him.

The pair made their way down to the control room, but before they could get halfway down the corridor Vortex came running towards them, silver Energon pouring from a deep wound on his left hand. Blackout raised an optic ridge at Shockwave.

"What happened to your hand, Vortex?" he asked, his voice perfectly level.

"I'd just finished the hyperdrive convertor when I got it caught in the second engine." he whined. "Primus, it hurts..."

"Get inside. Blackout's going to keep looking for that thing we were discussing earlier." he said firmly. In response to Blackout's questioning look, he added in a whisper, "No matter how hard they shut the lid, they're never going to be able to do that much damage."

Blackout nodded, then set off for the control room.

When she got there, she instantly slumped into despair. Both Lugnut and Darkscream were sporting cut hands. This was going to be a nightmare. There was no way of telling how they had cut their hands without asking and they could easily lie. She would just have to go down to the cargo hold and look for more clues.

Ten cycles later, she had come up with nothing. Whoever the thief was, they had left no trace apart from the shard. There wasn't even any scent...

Blackout froze. There was only one Decepticon she knew who could disguise his scent so thoroughly.

Darkscream.

She bolted out of the hold and up towards Darkscream's quarters. She was so focused on beating up Darkscream that she didn't see Shockwave until it was too late.

"Whoa!" he cried when she barrelled into him. Fortunately, she was so light she didn't hurt him or even knock him over.

"Let me go!" she grunted, frantically wriggling in Shockwave's grasp.

"What is the problem?" Shockwave asked, struggling to keep hold of the fuming femme. "Calm down!"

"Darkscream's the thief!" she yelled. Shockwave immediately let her go, dumping her on the floor. She got to her feet and stalked the short distance to Darkscream's quarters. Shockwave followed. He rapped sharply on the door.

"Darkscream!" he roared. "Come out!"

"What's going on?"

Darkscream had just come round the corner. Shockwave lunged at him, pinning him to the wall while Blackout attempted to open the door.

"Why were you stealing energon?" Shockwave snarled. Understanding (and terror?) suddenly dawned on Darkscream's face.

"Oh, Primus...I knew this would happen, I told him this would happen!" he cried.

"Told who?" Blackout said from the door.

"I'll show you" he replied. Shockwave dropped him. Darkscream scrabbled to his feet and unlocked the door. Blackout pushed past him into his room.

Curled in a heap on Darkscream's bed was a bright silver Decepticon. He looked very young, perhaps half Blackout's age.

"Who is that?" she asked Darkscream.

"Don't worry, he's unconscious. His name's Silverbolt. He won't hurt anybody." he replied. He stepped over to Silverbolt and lifted the unconscious youngster into a sort of sitting position. Silverbolt let out a sleepy moan.

"Why the hell did you bring him on board? You know how dangerous it is, bringing an unscreened Decepticon onto a ship. For all we know, he could be a raging psychopath!" Blackout snapped.

"I'm sorry. And I know there's no way he's going to hurt anyone." he replied.

"How?" Shockwave said dubiously. For an answer, Darkscream gently peeled Silverbolt's optic lids open.

One optic (his left) was scarlet, like an ordinary Decepticon. The other was cobalt blue.

"He's half Autobot?" Blackout exclaimed.

"His mother was one. But when she died, he was handed over to his father just as he was old enough to start training." Darkscream explained. Silverbolt let out another moan. He was waking up.

"How did you end up together?" Shockwave asked, but Darkscream's attention was fixed on Silverbolt. "When he's fully awake, bring him down to my medical bay.

He left the room, closely followed by Blackout.

"What are we going to do? It's not like we can just dump Silverbolt; it's too risky in space. And Darkscream's such a good pilot. I don't want to render him inoperable with punishment." she said to Shockwave.

"Then we won't do anything. Darkscream knows he did something wrong. For all we know, Silverbolt might actually be useful" Shockwave replied.

"Silverbolt?"

Shockwave rolled his optics. Vortex was standing in the medical bay doorway, cradling his newly mended hand.

"Darkscream somehow managed to smuggle in a half Autobot stowaway called Silverbolt." Blackout sighed.

"So that was what was in his pack. Yeah, Silverbolt's a good kid. Jumpy, though." Vortex replied.

"You know him?" Shockwave said, astonished.

"Yeah. Sweet, gentle kind...everything a Decepticon shouldn't be. His mother didn't want him. When she died, the Autobots handed him over." Vortex replied.

"How do you know him?" Blackout asked.

"I knew his dad. He was called Sunstorm. He didn't want Silverbolt either so he left it to me to look after him. Then, two stellar cycles later, he went missing. I don't know what happened to him after that." he said.

"So how come neither of them wanted him?" Shockwave asked.

"Let's just say Sunstorm was bored and he wasn't about to let a pretty femme walk away." Vortex said. "It wasn't nice for her."

Blackout put her hand over her mouth. Sunstorm had committed the most abhorrent crime on Cybertron and had got away with it? Not even a fellow Decepticon would normally stoop so low.

"Don't worry. They caught him just after Silverbolt turned up." Vortex reassured Blackout. Shockwave put his arms around her and held her close to him.

"He's dead now, Blackout." he whispered. He knew it was natural for her to feel threatened by this and it was his job to make sure she was happy.

"I'm fine, Shockwave!" she snapped. He'd almost forgotten that, for her size, she was very strong and feisty. There was a reason why she was captain. Blackout could take care of herself.

Or could she?

Shockwave had noticed that while she was physically strong, her mind could be as fragile as glass. She didn't realise it yet, but at some point on this trip, she was going to need his help.


	3. Chapter 3 Who watches the watcher?

Blackout was lying in bed. She was supposed to be asleep, but instead she was lying awake thinking.

What was this mysterious cargo? Why did Shockwave feel the need to keep her calm? Why was he acting strangely whenever something happened? Why was Silverbolt here? And what was wrong with Quatrain? No mech should look that much like a femme.

Sometimes she wished she wasn't here. Just occasionally, she wished she was back at her repetitive, stress-free job putting bullets into ammunition clips. There, the only question was had she done enough to earn her Energon. Nothing to worry her there.

But this was so much more fun! Even though it was stressful and potentially dangerous, she was having the time of her life. The only time she'd enjoyed life this much was when she was back in the Academy...

No. She mustn't think about that. The Academy was bad. And she had been doing so well with her self-made forgetting regime...

There was a sudden bang and the whole ship shook violently. Several possibilities flashed through Blackout's head; the two most likely scenarios being a meteor strike or they were under attack, the latter being the most likely. She stumbled off her bed and yanked open the door.

Vivid red emergency lighting flooded the corridor. So far, Blackout couldn't see any damage, but if she didn't get to the control room soon, whoever was attacking them would soon be back.

She ran to the control room as fast as she could. She again saw no damage. Had the attackers had hit one of the engines?

But when she got there, all was revealed. It had been a meteor strike. Two out of four engines were damaged bit it appeared to be easily fixable. Blackout let out a sigh of relief.

"There she is!"

Shockwave, Quatrain, Lugnut, Vortex, Darkscream and (reluctantly) Silverbolt all ran into the room. Shockwave grabbed her head in his hands and peered into her optics.

"Shockwave, I'm fine!" she cried, trying to prise his hands away.

"Are you a trained medic? Didn't think so!" he said. He continued to examine her.

After another half-megacycle, he was satisfied she was fine. Vortex was using the damage report machine to assess the engines.

"Ah, it doesn't look too bad. I can fix it, but I need you all to come with me to help with the lifting." Vortex said.

"No!" Lugnut cried.

"Here we go again." Quatrain muttered.

"Megatron Directive number three-nine-four states that only the engineers are allowed near the engine."Lugnut said firmly.

"Nobody follows those anymore, Lugnut." Blackout said. "Come on everybody."

"NO! We must obey the mighty Megatron in all his Directives or we are not loyal Decepticons!" Lugnut roared.

"Lugnut, you're embarrassing me." Quatrain murmured.

"Lugnut, I need your help. I need everybody's help." Vortex insisted.

"Lugnut, if it makes you feel any better, I'll stay. I need to sort out my medical bay." Shockwave said. Bit Lugnut still wasn't listening. Then Blackout had an idea.

"Lugnut, if you don't help us fix the engines we will never get to Megatron." she said, choosing her next words carefully. "And if my memory is right, Megatron Directive two clearly states, 'Any crew member who compromises a mission in which Megatron is directly involved shall be classed as a traitor and treated as such.'"

Lugnut froze. Blackout could almost hear his tiny processor whirring as he considered what she had said.

"Fine." he grumbled.

"I'm still staying." Shockwave said, then added in a whisper to Blackout, "If I hear another Megatron Directive..."

Blackout smiled, and then followed Vortex and the others down to the main engine room.

The engines weren't badly damaged at all. The only major problem was the massive chunk of rock piercing the side of the ship.

"The ship's self repair system should take care of the hole." Vortex said. "We just need to get the meteor out."

"How come the self repair systems won't fix the engine?" Darkscream asked.

"Class D ship. Outer shell repair only." Vortex replied.

"What are we waiting for? We must get to Megatron!" Lugnut cried.

"We're waiting for Shockwave to finish scanning it. It could have...organic contamination." Blackout said. Everybody shuddered at the mention of organics. They all knew the stories. About how organics dripped toxic slime from their bodies. About how their soft, fleshy forms wriggled and wormed their way into your circuits while you slept...

"Shockwave-zzt-to Blackout."

Blackout opened up her internal comm. link.

"What's up?" she said.

"The meteor-zzt-is fine but-zzt-it's not doing-zzt-good things to communi-"

There was a sudden, painfully loud burst of static. Blackout immediately cut the link.

"We can move it." she said.

Despite its size, the meteor was relatively easy to dispose of. As the crew were making their way back to the control room, they were intercepted by Shockwave.

"As we seem to be following Megatron Directives today I thought I would draw your attention to Directive six-one-nine." he said almost gleefully.

"You cannot mean-" Lugnut began.

"'All crew members that come into contact with foreign material and space debris must go into quarantine.'" Shockwave read aloud from the Megatron Directive manual which, by law, all Decepticon ships must carry.

"But this ship only has one quarantine berth!" Vortex exclaimed. Silverbolt started to whimper. He clearly didn't like being stuck in a room with Lugnut. Blackout didn't blame him.

"Not my problem." Shockwave said. "You'll be fine. Off you go."

The six of them miserably trooped off.

1 DECACYCLE LATER

Vortex was lying on the floor with one arm strapped up. Quatrain had a broken nose. Darkscream's lip had split and Lug nut had slammed his own head into the wall. Twice. Only Silverbolt and Blackout had escaped unscathed. Blackout lacked the natural aggression levels of mechs and Silverbolt had cowered under the table every time things got hairy.

This was the problem with keeping mechs locked up together, Blackout mused. They all needed some alone time. What they did with it, she didn't care, but if there was one thing she'd learnt it was that the average mech needed at least two megacycles of spare time. And they hadn't been alone for a decacycle.

"Lugnut owes me a repair job." Vortex grumbled.

"That was your fault. You would not bow down and worship Megatron!" Lugnut cried.

"BOYS!" Blackout roared making Silverbolt jump. "One decacycle of being shut up in quarantine and you've all gone completely mad!"

At that point there was a soft thump from the viewing window.

"What was that?" Darkscream squeaked. Blackout peered into the viewing window. The room beyond was dark, but she could just see the outline of Shockwave.

"Shockwave? How long have you been there?" Darkscream asked. There was no reply. Then the lights in the viewing room came on.

Shockwave was sat hunched up in the far corner, clutching a sparkling's cuddly toy and repeatedly coating his left arm in layers of blue paint. He let out an insane howl.

"What the..." Blackout murmured.

"Transformeritis." Vortex whispered.

"There's a disease called that?" Darkscream asked.

"My friend caught it once. Shockwave looks like he's in the final stage. He'll die soon if we don't get up to communications and transmit a high frequency scrambling pulse." Vortex replied.

"How will that cure him?" Quatrain asked.

"The disease is transmitted through an open comm. link. But first we have to get out of quarantine." Vortex said. That was going to be impossible. That was the point of quarantine. Nothing gets in, nothing gets out.

"I think I know the code." Silverbolt whispered. Everybody looked at him. This was the first time any of them (apart from Darkscream) had heard him speak.

"You know the code!" Lugnut roared. Silverbolt leapt backwards, straight into Darkscream's arms.

"Shut up, Lugnut." Blackout ordered coldly. "Why didn't you say this before, Silverbolt?"

But Silverbolt was now staring into space and slowly rocking back and forth. Darkscream gently lowered him down into a sitting position. He wrapped his arms tightly around Silverbolt and held him close.

"It's okay. Shh." Darkscream whispered into Silverbolt's audio receptor.

"What's wrong with him?" Blackout asked.

"It's something that happens when he gets upset. He could be like this for ten cycles or ten megacycles. None of the medics I took him to could tell me what was wrong with him." Darkscream replied.

"Shockwave doesn't have ten megacycles." Vortex said, looking at the insane medic.

"How come he didn't do this when we were fighting?" Lugnut said. Silverbolt buried himself deeper into Darkscream's grasp at the sound of Lugnut's voice.

"Not everything winds him up. Just heights and now...Lugnut." Darkscream explained. Blackout crouched down beside Silverbolt.

"Silverbolt, I need you to open the door." she said softly but firmly. Silverbolt whimpered, his two-tone optics looking up at Lugnut in terror.

"Lugnut has been ordered not to hurt you." Blackout said in the same tone. Out of the corner of her optic she saw Quatrain push a very confused Lugnut as far away from Silverbolt as possible.

"See? He's gone." Blackout said. She and Darkscream helped Silverbolt to his feet. "Open the door?"

Silverbolt stumbled over to the keypad.

"I saw Shockwave punch a number in to get out." he explained in a whisper. Now Lugnut was out of sight, he seemed a lot more confident. He pushed numbers six, one and nine. The door slid open.

"Communications, everybody. Lugnut, stay her5e and make sure Shockwave doesn't do anything dangerous. And don't open his comm. link! I don't want this Transformeritis spreading." Blackout ordered. Everybody except Lugnut ran out of quarantine.

Quatrain had just finished downloading the scrambling pulse to a small speaker.

"Stupid antiquated technology. We'll have to go back down to quarantine and blast it at the poor darling." Quatrain said. Everybody groaned.

But when they got there Shockwave was gone. Lugnut was lying unconscious on the floor.

"Primus, how hard did he have to hit him?" Vortex exclaimed.

"He can't have gone far, not in his condition." Blackout said.

Suddenly there was a loud crash from the corridor beyond.

"That'll be him!" Vortex said. Quatrain stepped forward, holding the speaker out in front of him. Blackout peeked round the corner.

Shockwave's optics had gone a pale lilac colour and were both oozing silver Energon. Quatrain activated the speaker.

A horrible screeching noise filled the corridor. It was bearable for most of them but Shockwave screamed in agony and clamped his hands over his audio receptors. He collapsed, spasmed for a few nanocliks, then lay still. Blackout motioned for Quatrain to stop. She knelt beside the unconscious medic. Had they just killed the one robot she could worm the precious cargo out of?

Shockwave blinked feebly a couple of times. The last thing he remembered was locking the others up in quarantine...

He sat up. The harsh light made his optics sting.

"Where am I?" he asked to the empty room.

"Quarantine!" came a suspiciously chirpy voice. Shockwave turned to the viewing room. Sat there, grinning stupidly, was the rest of the crew.

"Oh, no." Shockwave said.


	4. Chapter 4 Battle of the boys

"I still don't understand why you felt the need to lock me up in quarantine." Shockwave said as he and Blackout walked down the ship's main corridor towards his medical bay.

"You were ill, there was no other way." Blackout said in a slightly patronising tone.

"Clichés too? Really? I swear you did it just to annoy me." he replied.

"It was all in accordance wit Megatron Directive-" she began, but he clamped his hand over her mouth.

"If I hear one more Megatron Directive I will give you a diagnostic you will never forget!" he growled. Yet despite his anger, she couldn't help laugh.

"I'm just winding you up!" she giggled, prising his hand away.

"Why?" he snapped.

"Perhaps it's because I'm bored!"

"Why are you bored?"

"Because the moron who planned this trip forgot to bring anything to do! It's either wind you up or hide form Lugnut!"

Shockwave's angry manner suddenly vanished.

"Why do you need to hide from Lugnut?" he said, suddenly concerned.

"Ever since the incident with the Transformeritis, the big oaf has become infatuated with me. He keeps trying to seduce me. I wouldn't date him if he was the last mech alive, but it is annoying." Blackout said.

"Lugnut can't get you." Shockwave said, grabbing her arm and towing her towards the medical bay. "I have to keep you safe."

Blackout sighed. Great. Another one.

"Look, if you're both going to be like this I'll just move in with Vortex." she said, now slightly annoyed.

"No need for that. Until Lugnut gets his head screwed on straight you can come and live with me." he said firmly. Blackout wrenched her arm out of his grasp and slapped Shockwave in the face with all the strength he could muster.

"So you all think I'm just a delicate little femme who always has to hide behind a big, strong mech!" she snapped. "Well, I'll tell you something. I've been taking care of myself for a very long time and I don't need you to start doing it for me. I can have you floating in deep space quicker than you can throw a wrench. Don't make me.

She stormed off and locked herself in her quarters. After a few nanocliks, she slid down the door and buried her face in her hands. What had she done? Shockwave, who was probably the most valuable Decepticon on the team, now hated her and would be rebellious, stubborn and insubordinate for the rest of the trip. And also, she didn't want to make him angry. Sure, she was a good fighter, but Shockwave was nearly twice her weight. And she knew first hand what angry mechs did.

No. She mustn't think about that. That had happened a long time ago. This was a completely different situation. Wasn't it?

She heard a knocking on the door. He'd come for her. Just like last time.

"Blackout?" he called, his voice muffled by the door. She shuffled away from the door and wriggled under her bed. He was too big to get her under here. She hid her face and curled into a tight ball, waiting.

There was a loud crash as he broke the door down. Praying he wouldn't find her, Blackout curled up even tighter. She felt him touch her back. She flinched, knowing what was coming next...

"Don't make me fetch Quatrain to get you out of there."

Blackout opened her optics. She wasn't back there with him. She was on her ship, curled trembling under her bed with the medic reaching for her. She turned to him.

"What's wrong?" he said when he saw how distressed she was. She didn't give him an answer: she flung herself at him and sobbed with relief into his shoulder. This wasn't him. This wasn't him at all.

Shockwave held her close to him. She was glad of this. Whatever she had said, she did feel slightly safer being hugged.

"I'm sorry." she whispered as he gently rocked her back and forth.

"What happened? What happened to make you panic like that?" he asked. But Blackout didn't want to talk about it. She just wanted to forget it. Forget everything.

She looked up at Shockwave. The side of his face she had slapped was already becoming discoloured.

"Will you be okay?" she asked.

"Yeah. You could say I'm used to it. I've treated plenty of femmes and most of them had more violent mood swings than you. Sadly, all of them died or changed sides." Shockwave said.

"I'm useless, aren't I? I'm just a no-good coward who hides at the first sign of trouble. I'm worse than Silverbolt!" Blackout wailed. Shockwave grabbed the distressed femme's shoulders, held her at arm's length and shook her.

"You are not useless, Blackout! You're a good, brave captain. You're not a coward. Cowards don't hit people." Shockwave said firmly. "You're important, Blackout. Very important."

"No, I'm not!" she yelled, getting angry again. "If I was important, do you think I'd be working in an a weapons factory making ammunition clips?"

"Calm down." he replied, folding his arms back around her. "You're important to the ship. You're important to the crew. They need a strong leader. Can you be strong for them, Blackout?"

Blackout sniffled. She rested her head on Shockwave's shoulder. Somehow, it felt so right having him here with her. But not wanting to embarrass herself, she pushed those thoughts away. Shockwave gently rested his head on hers.

"Can you be strong for me?" he whispered gently. That was it for Blackout.

"Get out!" she yelled, ripping herself away from Shockwave. "Get out, get out, get out!"

Startled, Shockwave got to his feet and clambered over the wreckage of the door. Blackout curled up on her bed. She knew, perhaps better than anyone that Decepticons did not love.

She woke up a few megacycles later with Lugnut sitting by her side. Having slept, she felt refreshed. And angry at Shockwave.

Well, if he's going to be so touchy and annoying, I might give him a taste of his own medicine, she thought to herself as she beamed up at Lugnut. He held out a mass of springs and cogs and presented them to her. She carefully took them out of his massive hand and laid them on her side table.

"That's very sweet of you, Lugnut." she said. "Did Vortex let you have these?"

Lugnut nodded. He gazed at her adoringly as she stepped out of her room then followed her all the way up to the main control room. She wasn't bothered about using Lugnut. With what she'd experienced, mechs used femmes all the time. And he had Quatrain. He'd get over it.

When she reached the control room, every crew member (including Shockwave) was present.

"You let him?" Shockwave exclaimed on seeing her and Lugnut.

"I think it's endearing." she replied, reaching up and putting her hand on Lugnut's elbow. She could see Shockwave's temper rising.

"Blackout..." he said warningly.

"Be quiet, Shockwave darling. Lugnut's got a little crush on Blackout. He'll get over it in twenty four megacycles." Quatrain said, but Shockwave was still on the verge of growling. Not at her, Blackout realised. All his attention seemed to be fixed on Lugnut, like he'd personally offended Shockwave with his crush. It was almost amusing.

"Is there a problem?" Blackout asked coolly.

"No." Shockwave said through gritted teeth.

"Good. Now then everybody-" Blackout began, but she was interrupted by Shockwave.

"Blackout, would you like to have energon with me in a megacycle?" he asked. Blackout didn't know what to do until she saw Quatrain mouthing humour him behind Shockwave's back.

"Okay. If you insist." she replied.

Out of the corner of her optic she saw Lugnut visibly wilt. She patted him on the head then left to get ready.

Shockwave was nervous.

He needed to keep Lugnut away from Blackout. He knew he'd be over her soon and he wasn't sure she'd be able to cope with the breakup. he didn't know how mentally strong she was.

That was what now was for. He was going to have to use every bit of his medical skills and natural Decepticon cunning to give her a secret medical assessment.

Or he could just tell her.

No. He couldn't. If she knew what he knew it would jeopardise everything. All the work, all the planning would hang in the balance. Because what happened would be up to her.

Her knock on the door made him jump. He got up to let her in.

"Good evening." she said, no happy tone evident in her voice. That was bad. Not only was she still angry with him, he needed her in a relatively stable mood. Fortunately he'd planned ahead. He'd laced her Energon with a mild sedative; not enough to render her unconscious but enough to sooth her and make her easier to handle.

He politely stepped aside to let her in. He was tempted to make a sarcastic comment but it would only have made her worse. He led her into his room and they both sat in front of the viewing window.

"Hungry?" he asked. Maybe if he could get enough Energon into her she'd open up about what had spooked her earlier. He didn't want to imagine what might have happened.

"Yeah." she replied shortly. He pulled out a box full of the spiked energon and handed it to her. She stuck an ingot into her mouth and bit off a chunk. And another. And another.

Shockwave smiled. She was eating it and she could already see the drug taking effect. She was beginning to look tired. Now, with her inhibitions lowered, he could begin.

"What happened earlier? With you hiding under the bed?" he asked.

"I don't want to talk about it." she replied. So, even drugged, that was a taboo subject.

"That's okay." he said, placing an arm around her. "So what's going on with Lugnut?"

"I don't know. I was using him to get to you really." she whispered.

"Why?"

"Mechs use femmes. They all do. I'm just returning the favour." came the reply. So that was what this was all about. For some reason, Blackout felt that all mechs were not particularly nice. Suddenly he felt guilty about the drugging. But he had to persuade her otherwise. It was a necessity.

But when he looked down at Blackout, he discovered that she'd fallen asleep in his arms.

Blackout woke up nestled against something warm. Her CPU was a fuzzy mess so she couldn't figure out what the warm thing was. But then, as she woke up a bit more, she caught a whiff of scent. The warm thing smelt suspiciously like Shockwave.

She sat up. That made her head spin. She felt Shockwave stir beside her.

"You slept for a long time." he said. Blackout was now beginning to suspect foul play.

"Did you drug me?" she hissed.

"Only so I could assess your mental stability without you clawing my optics out." Shockwave said. He reached forward for Blackout's arms. Snarling, she ripped her arms away. Shockwave, unable to stop his forward momentum, tipped forward and ended up flattening Blackout.

"Get off me, you moron!" she snapped. Shockwave propped himself up on his elbows. Blackout found herself glaring into his crimson optics. But the more she stared, the less angry she became. She tentatively reached up and touched the bruised side of his face. Then she snatched her hand away. What was she doing? Decepticons didn't love. She was only deluding herself-

Suddenly she felt a sharp pain in her damaged rib. Shockwave, relaxing under her touch, had rested almost his full body weight on her. At almost six tonnes, he was slowly crushing her.

"Shockwave, get off!" she cried desperately. Shockwave must have sensed the panic in her voice because he immediately got back on his elbows.

"Did I hurt you?" he asked. Surprisingly, Blackout could hear concern in his voice.

"Just a bit." she replied.

"Oh, Primus, I'm so sorry." he whispered. "I'm so, so sorry."

"Just leave it." she replied. "It must be hard to resist the touch of a femme."

"I shouldn't have done that." he said. "That was stupid."

Well, this was a first. Regret at being with a femme? It sounded a little suspicious. But perhaps there was more to Shockwave than met the optics...

Clang.

Blackout and Shockwave both whipped around to face the door. Lugnut was standing there, his mouth so far open his lower jaw had fallen off and was lying on the floor by his feet.

"Lugnut, stop-" Quatrain said, but he stopped when he saw them. "Oh dear. We appear to be interrupting something. Put your jaw back in and we'll leave."

Lugnut did as Quatrain said. Only then did it finally occur to Blackout.

"Shockwave, you have to get off me right now." she said firmly.

"Why?"

"They think we're doing it!"

"Doing what?"

Blackout's voice dropped to a barely audible whisper. "Interfacing."

Shockwave immediately sat bolt upright.

"That's not good." he said.

"No, it is not!" Blackout said furiously. "Now everybody's going to think-"

She was cut off when Shockwave clamped his hand over her mouth.

"Don't. You're much nicer when you're not being so angry." he murmured. And for some reason, Blackout found herself caring. She wanted to be appealing to him. Yet she couldn't fathom why.

"Blackout...there's something I need to tell you." Shockwave said hesitantly.

"What?" she replied, her voice now soft.

"I...I need to tell you what the precious cargo is."


	5. Chapter 5 Honest Decepticons, part 1

Before Shockwave could say another word, a blaring electronic voice filled the ship.

"Warning: engine failure. Planetary impact inevitable." the voice repeated over and over.

"What?!" Blackout cried before Shockwave dragged her up to the control room.

When they got there it was mayhem. The Tagan Heights had already entered the planet's atmosphere and was starting to burn.

"Vortex, report!" Blackout roared over the noise. She darted over to the captain's seat and seized the controls. Darkscream was struggling to fly the crippled ship by himself.

"I don't understand! The engines are down so most of the electricity's gone and with that all control. The back-up generator...well, we don't have it!" Vortex cried.

"We don't have a back-up generator?" Blackout exclaimed.

"According to the log, it was ejected three missions ago so the captain could take his vintage weapons collection!" Vortex yelled as the ship began to shake violently.

"Everybody brace!" someone cried and then the world turned black.

Shockwave woke to find drops of rain falling on his face. They had rain on Cybertron, but this was light, almost like a mist. He was used to rainstorms that dumped their contents in a matter of cycles.

"Ohhhh..." he moaned. By some miracle he had survived with only minor cuts and dents.

He sat up, surveying the wreck. It didn't look too bad. The rain had prevented any fire. The viewing window that had once surrounded the control room was gone and the nose was crushed but apart from that-

Wait. The nose. Darkscream, who was sat further back, might have survived but what about Blackout? She couldn't be dead. She mustn't be dead.

He scrambled desperately to his feet. he darted over to where he'd last seen her.

"Blackout?" he cried, tossing away wreckage.

"What's wrong?' came a voice from behind him. Quatrain had managed to dig himself out. He was limping, but otherwise he seemed okay.

"Blackout was at the front of the ship when it crashed. She's probably dead, but just i case she isn't we need to find her." Shockwave said.

"Primus, no!" Quatrain cried. He began to help Shockwave dig.

After less than a cycle, Quatrain had uncovered Blackout's left shoulder. After half a megacycle, they had her out.

"Primus..." Quatrain whispered.

Blackout's head, left arm, pelvis, ribcage and both legs had all been damaged to some degree. She was lying in a pool of her own Energon. Shockwave carefully lifted her head out of the silver puddle.

"Blackout..." Shockwave murmured. He pressed two fingers against the main energon line in her neck, praying that he would be able to feel her pulse. After a terrifying moment, he felt a tiny flutter. She was alive.

"She's alive, but only just. She will die if we don't get her to my med bay soon." he explained to the worried looking Quatrain. "Go and get the stretcher. It should be under the main examination table. GO! Quickly!."

"Do you need anything else?" Quatrain asked.

"The stuff's too heavy; it'd take you too long to bring it all here." Shockwave ordered. He couldn't move her without assistance: he couldn't keep her steady. He would attempt to keep her head out of her own energon to stop it from smothering her. That, until he got her to the medical bay, was all he could do.

"NO!"

The panicked yell had come from Vortex, who had got to his feet and was now crouching behind Shockwave.

"She's dead and it's all my fault!" he wailed.

"Vortex, she's not dead." Shockwave said. But the dark grey mech was inconsolable. His optics were pouring with lubricant as he sobbed into his hands.

"Why is Primus doing this to me again Shockwave? WHY?!" he sad, suddenly looking up. "Why, Shockwave?"

Shockwave had no idea what Vortex was on about.

"Vortex, I don't-" he began, but Vortex had dissolved into tears again. He was now curled on the floor and was slowly rocking back and forth. Then Quatrain arrived with the stretcher.

"The rest of the hip is relatively undamaged." he reported. "How are we going to get the poor thing out?"

Blackout was lying in a sort of hole under what had once been the main control panel.

"I need everybody here so we can keep her steady when we lift her out." Shockwave explained. "You find the others. I'll prepare her."

While Quatrain scampered off and Vortex tried to compose himself, Shockwave reached into the hole and took hold of her hand.

"It's going to be okay." he whispered. "You'll be fine."

Blackout could hear a soft, consistent bleeping. Her optic lids felt like they were made of lead as she struggled to open them. When she did, she found herself looking up at a bright white ceiling. She blinked sleepily a few times, then stopped because it was tiring.

What had happened? The last thing she remembered was the Tagan Heights falling out of the sky. Why was she in bed..?

Then the pain started to hit her. First from her legs, then her pelvis, then her arm, ribs and head. The only sound she was able to articulate was a pained moan.

The second the noise came out of her mouth, someone ran over and began adjusting equipment. The pain slowly vanished as Shockwave's head came into view.

"Go easy on that stuff, we don't have much left." he whispered gently.

"What happened?" she mumbled. She was surprised at how feeble her voice was.

"You were badly injured in the crash. I've managed to stabilise you, but I can't repair you until I find my tools." Shockwave replied. He helped her sit up, then sat behind her and put his arms around her waist so she could lean on him. She looked around at the mess of medical equipment around her and the large amount that appeared to be covering the floor. Then she made the mistake of looking down at her legs.

To her, they looked damaged beyond repair. One was twisted round at completely the wrong angle and she could see the strut poking through her armour in the other.

"Oh..." she managed. Shockwave saw her looking and tilted her head up so she was facing him.

"I know it looks bad but I promise I can repair you." he murmured. Blackout didn't believe him. She lay trembling in his grasp for a few more cycles before she managed to speak again.

"What else?" she asked. Shockwave immediately understood.

"You've cracked your pelvis, broken your left arm, bruised three ribs, fractured your skull and torn a big hole in your right side." he said .Blackout looked over, saw the bandaged wound and gasped when she saw the size of it. Shockwave turned her head again and pressed it against his shoulder. She took great comfort in his scent, in the rhythmic beating of his spark. Shockwave held her close, even after she fell asleep.

Darkscream was very, very bored.

After four useless megacycles of trudging around on this stupid rockball (their Cybertronian alt modes apparently didn't work on anything other than metal), the only interesting thing he'd seen was Lugnut praying. Seeing the big idiot down on his knees, begging Megatron to forgive them for the delay of the mission, had cracked Darkscream up so badly e had been at risk of blowing a gasket. Sadly, Silverbolt hadn't found it quite so amusing.

Darkscream heard his footsteps approaching.

"You okay?" he murmured. Silverbolt nodded.

"As long as Lugnut doesn't get too close I'll be fine." he replied. "He reminds me too much of..."

He trailed off. Darkscream reached over and encased the lithe silver mech in his arms. He wouldn't let go until Silverbolt calmed down.

"It's alright." Darkscream whispered. "He's dead now."

It was a funny thing, but ever since Silverbolt turned up on his doorstep he'd felt a strange responsibility for him. He'd been starving, injured and mentally unstable, but Darkscream (for reasons unknown to him) had shown compassion and mad him better. This was unheard of among Decepticons. Silverbolt would have been killed by anyone else. But some strange force had stayed Darkscream's hand.

Silverbolt slipped away from Darkscream and jogged up a short slope.

"What is it?" Lugnut grunted.

"Civilization." Silverbolt replied.

Quatrain watched as Shockwave carefully lowered the sleeping Blackout back into bed. Something was going on between those two, and he was determined to find out what.

Shockwave heard Quatrain approaching. The Communications Officer had stayed behind to help Vortex with any lifting work but he was spending too much time in the medical bay.

"How is she?" Quatrain asked.

"If you want to make yourself useful, find my tools!" Shockwave snapped. This ship needed to be airborne quickly, within the next three solar cycles. He gently stroked Blackout's cheek. What had he been thinking? In one way, it was lucky the ship had crashed. If he had told her what the precious cargo was at this stage, it would have cost them the mission. Shockwave was under a lot of pressure. It was critical that this mission stayed on schedule. There was a decacycle to spare, but that was supposed to be for preparing the cargo. Now it looked like they were going to have to use most-if not all-of it here.

"No need to be snappy." Quatrain said, then his voice softened. "I know you're worried about Blackout."

Quatrain didn't know the half of it.

Blackout lay in a drug-induced haze. The painkillers Shockwave had given her were doing their job, but they were making her very drowsy. Yet she couldn't sleep. A throbbing pain deep in her chest was keeping her awake. Perhaps she would tell Shockwave. Get him to give her more painkillers.

She reached up and tugged Shockwave's arm.

"My chest hurts." she mumbled when he turned around. "By my spark. Give me painkillers."

Instead of giving her the drugs, he pressed an audio receptor to her chest. As the pain rapidly increased, she felt herself begin to lose consciousness. The last thing she heard was Shockwave screaming her name...


End file.
